Japan’s new leader takes a hard line on disputed isles

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Shinzo Abe declared that ownership of the bitterly disputed Senkaku islets was not up for discussionFranck Robichon/EPA

Richard SmartTokyo

Published at 12:01AM, December 18 2012

Japan’s nationalistic prime minister in-waiting said yesterday that there would be no compromise in a territorial dispute with China, raising fears that Sunday’s landslide election victory could bring the region’s biggest powers closer to conflict.

Treating his triumph as a mandate for a tough line on Chinese expansionism, Shinzo Abe declared that ownership of the bitterly disputed Senkaku islets was not up for discussion. “Japan owns and controls the islands under international law. There is no negotiation on this point,” he said in a speech that drew fury from thousands of microbloggers on China’s equivalent of Twitter.